1. so long as humans travel - (a once in a lifetime pilgrimage to the Dome of the Rock), fly to Merida, Mexico for vacation, make an obligatory summer on a Kibbutz - epidemics will go everywhere. My grandfather died of the "Spanish flu" in 1917. Despite the lack of paved roads, no air travel and limited railroads, it went everywhere in the world with the exception of one island.

2. the "flu" travels around the world about three seasons before enough people have gained an immunity or had a low dose.

3. the "flu shot" is a combination of 3-5 purportedly dead flu viruses that are expected to circle the globe;

4. you cannot isolate yourself in a castle surrounded by a moat like in the French book, The Red Death.

5. you can minimize your risk of exposure by frequently washing your hands and wearing 95 or 100 face masks.

6. there are viruses for which there will simply not be enough time to manufacture any effective vaccine.

I live near LAX. My girlfriend handles cargo operations of an international airline. Am I going to avoid an epidemic? No.

We have members who live in Maine and Alaska. Yeah, I know, they are going to be safe - until an infected relative shows up or a guy and his family who camped in the area last summer who is trying to avoid the plague. And just how was the 1917 flu finally studied? The scientists dug up a well preserved Eskimo woman who had died of the 1917 flu and studied the virus! So much for the dream of bugging out!!!!

A very long time ago, I was in Afghanistan speaking with a parasitologist from UC Berkeley. It seems that an unfortunate medical doctor in Eastern Iran had made the mistake of advising someone that there had been an outbreak of an epidemic. The doctor was severely beaten by Savak, the secret police. Such a disclosure would have discouraged tourism.

So, Ok, this is Saudi Arabia with billions of dollars -

As of 2010, about three million pilgrims participate in this annual pilgrimage. Crowd-control techniques have become critical, and because of the large numbers of people, many of the rituals have become more stylized. But even with the crowd control techniques, there are still many incidents during the Hajj, as pilgrims are trampled in a crush, or ramps collapse under the weight of the many visitors, causing hundreds of deaths.

The logic is simple. A person contracts the illness, but does not show signs in Saudi Arabia. He gets on the boat or plane, goes home and dies. No problem. He must have gotten the illness somewhere else, right?

And just how was the 1917 flu finally studied? The scientists dug up a well preserved Eskimo woman who had died of the 1917 flu and studied the virus! So much for the dream of bugging out!!!!

H3N2 (aka Hong Kong flu) which killed 34,000 in the U.S in the late 60's still circulates today

H2N2 (aka Asian flu) which killed 70,000 in the U.S in the 50's kills 2 million annually yet today

Tuberculosis has killed 100 million people since the begining of the 20th century and still kills 2 million annually

HIV/AIDS which is classified as a pandemic could kill as many as 100 million in Africa within fifteen years, add to that 30+ million in India and 20 million in China

Throughout human history a major pandemic develops every 20 years or so - up to now we have been lucky and overdue.

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Now when asked when I think things will change I answer "The next time Thomas (aka the fed) robs Peter (aka the 53%) to pay Paul (aka the 47%) and Peter pulls a gun...things will change"